Electric starters for outboard motors



Jan. 17, 1956 F. w. LAUSEN 2,731,005

ELECTRIC STARTERS FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed Aug. 14, 1952 INVENTORFrederick W. Lausen ATTORNEYS United States Patent ELECTRIC STARTERS FOROUTBOARD IHOTORS Frederick W. Lausen, Gainesville, Tex.

Application August 14, 1952, Serial No. 304,309

3 Claims. (Cl. 123 179 This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in electric starters for outboard motors.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved electric starterof such construction as to be mountable upon motors of differentmanufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved starter whichis so constructed that it is capable of being mounted beneath theprotective shroud of an outboard motor so as to be concealed from Viewand shielded from the weather, whereby the appearance of the motor isunaltered.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved starter ofsimple economical design and construction whereby the cost ofinstallation and maintenance is kept to a minimum.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawingwherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an outboard motor having its shroudin section and having an electric starter, constructed in accordancewith the invention, mounted thereon,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the motor and starter,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical, cross-sectional view, takenon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the clutch engaged,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal, cross-sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 ofFig. 3,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical, sectional view, taken online 5-5 of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, detailed sectional view, showing one of the camrollers in its disengaged position.

In the drawing, the numeral 10 designates a conventional outboard motorof the internal combustion engine type which includes cylinders 11, acrankcase 12, a drive shaft 13 and a flywheel 14. A protective anddecorative shroud 15 substantially encloses the motor 10, its cylinders,crankcase and flywheel, and an electric starter motor 16 is adapted tobe mounted uprightly within the shroud forwardly of said crankcase andflywheel. The starter 16, which has its armature shaft 17 in parallelrelation to the drive shaft 13, is fastened to the crankcase 12 by agenerally triangular bracket 18 and suitable bolts 19. An upright flange20 for attachment to the starter by the bolts is formed on the forward,upper portion of the mounting bracket 18 by bending said bracketoutwardly upon itself. The starter is additionally secured to thecrankcase by a horizontal arm or brace 21 and an extension 22 of saidcrankcase (Fig. 2). It is noted that the mounting bracket is merelysubstituted for a bracket (not shown) with which the motor is equipped.

The starter is provided with the usual electrical controls including aground switch 23 connected to a solenoid 24 which delivers electricalcurrent from a storage battery 2,731,005 Patented Jan. 17, 1956 (notshown) through cables 25 and 26 to said starter. A drive sprocket 27 isfixed to the upper end of the armature shaft 17 of the starter and isconnected by an endless chain 28 to a driven sprocket 29 carried by thedrive shaft 13. For drivingly connecting the sprocket 29 to the driveshaft, an overrunning clutch 30 is provided and said sprocket underliesand is fastened to the underside of its annular case or outer clutchmember 31 by suitable countersunk screws 32 (Fig. 3). An inner, circularclutch member 33, having a depending tubular spindle 34, supports theouter clutch member or case 31 by having its spindle screw-threaded uponthe upper end of the drive shaft above the flywheel 14. The inner clutchmember 33 preferably is provided with an angular socket 35 in its upperend to facilitate its disconnection from the drive shaft. A ball bearing36 encircles the spindle 34 and the outer clutch member 31 has acylindrical bore 37 snugly engaging the bearing, whereby said outerclutch member and the driven sprocket 29 may remain stationary uponrotation of the inner clutch member and its spindle with the driveshaft. Above the bearing 36, the bore 37 is enlarged to provide acounterbore 38 and an upset, radial shoulder 39 between the boreportions for receiving and supporting an annular cam element or balkring 40. The external and internal diameters of the ring 40 aresubstantially equal to the respective internal and external diameters ofthe clutch members whereby said ring has a snug rotatable fit with saidmembers. A cir cular cover plate 41 overlies and is secured to the outerclutch member by suitable countersunk screws 42.

For connecting the cam ring to the outer clutch member, a plurality ofset screws 43 are engaged in screwthreaded openings 44 extendingradially through said member. Tangential ports or openings 45 are formedin the cam ring and their outer ends receive the inner ends of thescrews 43, whereby said ring is held against movement relative to theouter clutch member. The inner ends of the openings 45 terminate intransverse cam slots or recesses 46 provided in the inner periphery ofthe cam ring and have upright, arcuate bottom Walls 47. An upright,cylindrical roller 48 is disposed in each cam recess 46 and is urgedcounter-clockwise thereof by a coiled spring 49 and pin or thimble 50which are confined in the communicating opening 45 by the set screw 43engaged therein (Figs. 4 and 5). Thus, the rollers 47 are resilientlyurged into frictional engagement with the periphery of the inner clutchmember and the counterclockwise end portions of the arcuate bottom walls47 of the cam recesses, whereby clockwise rotation of the outer clutchmember and cam ring with the sprocket 29 drives said inner clutch memberand drive shaft in the cam directions.

Although the major portion of the arcuate bottom wall of each cam recessmay be swung in an are about the axis of the clutch 30, its clockwiseend portion is swung upon a greater radius so as to be spaced a greaterdistance from the periphery of the inner clutch member as shown by thenumeral 51 (Fig. 6). Due to this increased width of each cam recess, therollers move clockwise and out of frictional engagement with the innerclutch member periphery upon clockwise rotation of said member with thedrive shaft. Thus, the inner clutch member overruns the outer clutchmember and cam ring after starting of the motor so that said outermember and ring remain stationary when actuation of the starter 16ceases.

It is readily apparent that a starter of economical efficientconstruction has been provided and that the same may be readily mountedupon outboard motors of several difierent manufacturers without alteringthe appearance, operation or use of such motors. Due to its compactconstruction, the starter may be mounted beneath the shroud of a motorso as to be concealed from view and protected from the Weather. Thestarter is readily installed by removing the flywheel nut (not shown)and connecting the clutch 3%} directly to the drive shaft 13 above itsflywheel. With the exception of this nut and the shroud, it isunnecessary to remove or replace any parts of the motor. Of course, theclutch is one of the major factors contributing to the compactness ofthe starter and its ease of installation.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof andvarious changes in the size, shape and materials, as Well as in thedetails of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an outboardmotor having a drive shaft, an in ternal combustion engine for drivingthe shaft, a flywheel on the shaft overlying the engine and a shroudenclosing the engine and flywheel, the improvement which includes, anelectric starter motor mounted on the engine adjacent the flywheel andWithin the shroud, an overrunning clutch overlying and securing theflywheel to the drive shaft and disposed within the shroud, a drivesprocket carried by the motor, a driven sprocket attached to theunderside of the clutch above the flywheel, and an endless chainconneeting the sprockets.

2, The improvement set forth in claim 1 wherein the clutch includesinner and outer members, the inner clutch member being fixed to thedrive shaft and securing the flywheel thereto, the outer clutch memberhaving the l. driven sprocket attached thereto, an annular elementinterposed between the clutch members and connected to said outermember, the element having cam recesses in its inner periphery, a rollerin each recess, and spring-pressed means for urging the rollers intofrictional engagement with said inner member to transmit rotation fromsaid outer to said inner member and permit rotation of said inner memberrelative to said outer member,

3. In an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine providedwith an extending drive shaft, a bracket mounted on the engine, anelectric starter motor mounted on the bracket adjacent one side of theengine, a brace extending from the starter motor to the engine, and adriving connection between the starter motor and the drive shaftincluding an overrunning clutch, in combinatlon with a housing shroudoverlying and surrounding the engine, the driving connection and thestarter motor, and an electrical switch electrically connected with thestarter motor and mounted on the shroud.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,142,574 Huck June 8, 1915 1,727,086 Vastano Sept. 3, 1929 2,373,507Smith Apr. 10, 1945 2,677,360 Maurer et al. May 4, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS70,675 Norway July 8, 1946

